


The Empath

by Andromytta



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Aura Reading, But I don't care, Castiel runs from his feelings, Dean doesn't even know he has feelings, Empath, Everyone hides from their feelings except poor smitten Sam, F/F, F/M, M/M, Men of Letters Bunker Love Fest, Original Female Character is probably a Mary Sue, Original Female Character runs from her feelings, She's not really a slut she's just in denial, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-30 16:02:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8539444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromytta/pseuds/Andromytta
Summary: Dean is injured in a car accident.  Not by a demon or monster or ghost or anything, just an accident.  While in the hospital, Sam meets an unusual woman who's brother was in the same accident.





	1. The Hospital

The young woman paced around the hospital’s waiting room. She hated hospitals, always filled with other people’s stress and worry. And now, filled with her own worry and dread, she was like a raw nerve and everyone else’s emotions were rubbing it more and more raw. She sunk further into her Burberry coat, glancing wistfully out the large window. How she longed to be outside, but the dreary, rainy Kansas night was urging her to stay inside. When parents brought in their sick child, she couldn’t take it anymore and stepped out into the wet, dark night.

She pulled the collar of her rain coat up around her face and pulled her hat down further. She heard someone else out there with her, and glanced over in time to see a giant moose of a man shove a cell phone angrily into his pocket. The woman couldn’t keep her eyes off of him, and not just because he was handsome in a rugged, but classic way. The man’s aura was bright white and warm. She hadn’t seen many auras that warm and bright before, and she was drawn in. The man didn’t notice her staring, as he seemed to be concentrating on something. He was talking to himself, she thought. But as she moved to be closer to his warm glow, she could hear that he was praying, almost begging for someone to come heal his brother.

Suddenly, the man jerked his head up and the woman realized she had gotten way to close to his personal space. “Can I help you?” he barked down at her. The tiny woman seemed to shrink further into her khaki coat.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________  
Sam couldn’t stand the hospital waiting room any longer. No one knew how badly Dean had been injured in the car accident. He could only think of one thing to do, so he stepped out into the rainy night and called Castiel. He knew the angel would want to know Dean was injured, and he would be able to help. The Winchesters hadn’t seen their personal guardian angel in a couple of weeks, but Sam knew he had to get in touch with him. Castiel’s cell phone went straight to voicemail. Sam left an urgent message describing the situation and then, frustrated, shoved his own phone back into his pocket. He did the only other thing he could think of to do. “Cas, I hope you can hear me. It’s Dean. He was in a really bad car accident, and he needs help. The doctors don’t know how bad it is, or if they do, they won’t tell me anything. I don’t know what’s going on with you lately, Cass, but Dean needs you right now,” He prayed quietly and desperately, thinking he was alone. When he was finished, he jerked his head up to see a tiny Asian woman standing a little too close to him. “Can I help you?” he barked down to her. His harsh tone caused her to become even smaller as she shrank into her khaki Burberry trench coat.

“I-I’m sorry,” the girl stammered. “You-you…you looked warm,” she finished dumbly.

Sam sinks onto the bench he was standing in front of and drops his head into his hands. “I’m sorry I snapped. I’m just really worried. My brother was in a really bad car accident and no one will tell me how he’s doing.”

The girl sat down next to him, pointedly keeping an acceptable distance from him. She looked up at him with soft brown eyes. “I understand,” she said softly, almost too softly for Sam to hear. “My brother was also in a car accident. And they won’t tell me anything either.”

Sam smiled softly at the young woman. “So, I guess we can be frustrated together.” He extended a giant hand towards her. “Sam Winchester,” he said, and he didn’t even realize he had given this stranger his real name.

She accepted his hand shake greeting, his large hand swallowing her miniscule one. “Ji Na Choi,” she said, separating the syllables of her first name in a clipped way, with just a hint of an accent. Her doe eyes peeked up at him from under her rain hat, and she couldn’t keep herself from asking the question that was on the tip of her tongue, it rushed out before she could reign it back in. “I heard you praying earlier. I’ve never heard of a god named ‘Cass’ before.” She clapped her hands over her mouth as the realization of how personal that question was and how silly she sounded. “Oh! I’m sorry. It’s not any of my business,” she gasped before covering her mouth again.

“It’s OK,” Sam chuckled softly. Ji Na couldn’t help but be lulled into a sense of comfort by his smooth, deep (but not too deep) voice. “I was praying…but not to a god. Cass is our friend, and an angel.” Sam didn’t understand why he was telling Ji Na all of this. Maybe it was something about her deep brown eyes that was drawing him in. Or the way she was looking at him, as if she sincerely believed him.

Ji Na watched as Sam’s aura seemed to soften a bit as he talked about his angel friend. “So you guys are friends with your guardian angel?”

Sam laughed in earnest now, his hazel green eyes sparkling. “Well, he’s not exactly our guardian angel. It’s-it’s a long story…that I don’t usually tell to people I’ve just met outside of a hospital.”

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Ji Na blushed, and even in the dim lights coming from the parking lot a few yards away, Sam could see it coloring her pale caramel cheeks.

The rain that had started as a very determined drizzle had suddenly become a down pour. “We should get back inside,” Sam suggested. He stood and offered a hand out to pull Ji Na off of the bench. She just sat there and sank even further into her coat. He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow.

“I-I can’t go back in there,” Ji Na said, her voice small and fragile.

Sam looked up at the awning that did seem to provide some shelter against the down pour. Resigned, he sat back down on the bench next to Ji Na, noticeably closer than before. “Why not?” he asked simply.

Having Sam’s warm, bright aura almost close enough for her to feel it, Ji Na opened up a little, pulling herself out of the perceived safety of her coat. She began speaking softly, slowly, stammering a bit. “I-I have this-this ability. My brother calls it a ‘gift’.” Her words started to come easier, but she refused to look up as she spoke. “I can sense what people are feeling, especially when their emotions are high. Like when they have sick or injured loved ones,” she gestured towards the hospital. “And with my own emotions being raw right now…I just can’t go back in there. I can also see people’s auras. Yours is bright white and warm,” she said that last sentence almost to herself.

“That’s what you meant when you said that I seemed warm,” Sam said, no hint of disbelief or surprise in his voice. It was merely a statement.

“Yes,” Ji Na replied. “And I can’t sense anything from you. Clearly you’re worried about your brother, but I can’t feel it. It’s nice.” She seemed to relax a little as she sank back into the bench.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Sam spoke up again. “So, your brother was in a car accident too? What happened?” He didn’t know if Ji Na wanted to talk about it, but he wanted to talk about Dean’s accident. He thought it might help them both feel a little better.

Ji Na sighed wearily. “Ji Yong was on the highway, driving back from grad school when a big rig lost control and crossed into his lane. Apparently the impact pinned his smart car between the rig and another car.”

“A 1967 Chevy Impala,” Sam finished. “Dean was in the other car.” He simply looked over at the young woman. His hazel green eyes holding her brown ones as they realized they were here for the same accident.

“Oh God,” Ji Na breathed as she dropped her head into her hands. Long dark braids fell along her shoulders as her head dropped.

Sam slid closer to Ji Na. He didn’t know if he believed what she said about his aura, or if he believed in auras at all, but he did think that if she thought his aura was warm, maybe being closer to it would be a comfort to her. He resisted the urge to put a strong arm around her and gently tug one of her braids. He didn’t even understand where the urge was coming from.

A nurse came out to find them; she was surprised to see the families of the accident victims together. “Mr. Smith, Ms. Choi, the doctors will see you now.” She led them down the hall to a large room. A curtain divided the two beds. Another nurse approached and solemnly led Ji Na over to the bed occupied by her brother while the nurse that brought them there led Sam to Dean’s bed.

“Mr. Smith,” the doctor started. “Your brother has several severe internal injuries. We had to put him into a medically induced coma. We were able to stop the bleeding, but it’s up to him now. His body has to take time to heal.”

Sam took the doctor’s words in, almost not understanding them. He thinks he muttered thanks to the doctor before sinking down into the chair next to his brother’s bed. He took Dean’s hand into his own. He just couldn’t wrap his head around this. A demon didn’t get his brother. A monster didn’t get his brother. It was an accident. It was just an accident when an 18 wheeler blew a tire and skidded across the interstate. The driver of the truck had a few broken bones and other minor injuries, but the two other drivers were lying unconscious in hospital beds with siblings hoping for the best. He wanted to open the curtain and ask Ji Na how her brother was, but he didn’t want to leave his own brother’s side for even the minute it would take to open the curtain.

Suddenly, Sam heard the angry beeping of medical machinery, indicating that the person attached to it was taking a turn for the worse. He looked at the monitors attached to his brother in fear, but Dean’s monitors were still beeping in their steady rhythm, and he realized the angry sound was coming from the other side of the room. As doctors and nurses surged in to work on Ji Na’s brother, Sam gripped Dean’s hand tighter and prayed again to Castiel. This time, not just for Dean, but for Ji Yong as well.

No one had bothered to close the curtain completely when they had come in to tend to Ji Yong, so Sam could look over and see some of what was going on as doctors and nurses worked to revive the young man. His eyes were drawn to the figure of Ji Na huddled in the corner, hands wringing in front of her as she stared blankly at the activity buzzing around her brother. Suddenly, the angry beeping of the monitors stopped. Only, it wasn’t replaced by the rhythmic beeping of heart beats and breathing. It was replaced by silence; dead silence.

“We’ll give you a chance to say goodbye,” a nurse said softly and gently as she led Ji Na to the chair next to her brother’s bed. She just nodded, her eyes blank and glossy as she sank into the chair and looked over her brother’s body.

When the nurse left, Ji Na finally took her brother’s hand in hers. “Oppa, no, Oppa. You can’t do this to me.” She started crying quietly, still speaking to her brother between breaths. Sam continued to watch her through the curtain that was still half opened. He could no longer understand what she was saying as she had slipped into another language Sam didn’t quite recognize. Ji Na had stopped speaking and laid her head on her brother’s chest, sobbing and shaking now. Sam wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t want to leave his brother’s side. He tried to send comforting vibes to her, even though she said she couldn’t read him, he hoped if he focused soft, warm energy towards her that she might feel it.

As Ji Na laid there, head pressed to Ji Yong’s chest, sobs wracking her chest, she suddenly felt soft warmth float over her, trying to comfort her. When she looked up, her hat stayed where her head had just been. Her Burberry coat was hanging open now, revealing the slight figure beneath, clad in all in black, a turtle neck and skinny jeans. The only light was the round silver buckle on her black belt. Her deep chocolate eyes looked gratefully at Sam, and her full lips pulled into a very soft, slight smile.

Ji Na’s grief was palpable, like a tight knot in the center of her soul. It surrounded her and the empty shell of what was once her twin brother. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, and she wanted to destroy the room, the hospital, the world. But when she felt the warmth coming from the other side of the room and looked up to see Sam looking at her with soulful hazel eyes, calm came over her that she couldn’t explain. She simply watched him, drinking in the soft white glow of his powerful aura. Ji Na let her eyes drift down to Sam’s brother, and she could tell he was in a coma. His aura was powerful and bright as well. It was whiskey colored, and warm in a different way than Sam’s was. Ji Na couldn’t help thinking to herself that she hoped he hadn’t been drinking at the time of the accident because he’d be charged with DUI even though he wasn’t at fault.

She wanted to be closer to those warm auras, but didn’t dare leave her brother’s side. She shrugged out of her long coat and tossed it and her hat aside before pulling all of the wires she could off of and out of her brother. She traced her finger along the tattoo on his ribs. “Too fast to live, too young to die,” it said. The irony hit her like a jolt. Her brother was getting his Master’s in music theory and composition. He could have been a pop star. On a whim he auditioned when a Korean entertainment company had auditions in the states. He was invited to become a trainee, but he didn’t want to leave Ji Na behind. Didn’t really want to become famous anyway, he always told her. And she always knew he was lying, but she was grateful anyway. Her “gift” as he always liked to call it, made it nearly impossible for her to keep a job out in the world, so he stayed and taught music at the local high school instead of making music for the world. He was getting his Master’s so he could teach at the college level. Ji Na had a stay at home job as a transcriptionist, and she stayed hidden in the apartment they shared day after day, afraid to face the onslaught of emotions that always came with leaving her comfort zone. When her phone rang that night, she immediately knew it wasn’t good news. She tentatively climbed onto her pink and black Suzuki motorcycle and carefully made her way to the hospital. Once she had heard about her brother’s accident that was when she couldn’t be there any longer and found herself with the brother of the other accident victim.

When she looked up at Sam again, she noticed he had taken his jacket off as well. He looked like a normal guy in his jeans and button down shirt layered over a dark t-shirt. She didn’t see any hint as to why he had such as powerful aura and why she couldn’t read his emotions unless he wanted her too. 

Her pondering was interrupted when a nurse came in to talk to her. The nurse was radiating sorrow and compassion. “Ms. Choi, I’m afraid we have to take your brother’s body to the morgue,” the nurse’s voice caught in her throat. This was the hardest part of her job. Ji Na found herself putting a comforting hand on the nurse’s arm, slightly embarrassing the woman. It was her job to comfort Ji Na, not the other way around. “I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to do an autopsy to determine the actual cause of your brother’s death. Do you have any religious objections to this?”

“No,” Ji Na replied quietly with a soft shake of her head.

The kind nurse cleared her throat before continuing. “We have an arrangement with Withering Pines mortuary to handle the-um-arrangements after the autopsy. Unless there is another place you’d prefer?”

“No,” Ji Na replied exactly as she had before.

“A grief counselor will be by shortly to go over details with you. You are welcome to wait in the lounge for him,” the nurse tries to escort her out of her brother’s room, but Ji Na doesn’t move.  
Now it’s Sam who can feel the discomfort coming from Ji Na. She didn’t want to leave the last place her brother had been, even though they were about to take him away. “She can stay here with me, if that’s OK.” He spoke up suddenly. “I mean, I’m sure we could both use the company.”   
The nurse smiled and shook her head softly. “It goes against hospital policy, but given the circumstances…” She trailed off and gathered up Ji Na’s discarded coat and hat and led her over to Sam’s side of the room. “But I’m sorry, you can’t stay over here. It’s not good for you to see him wheeled away.”

Sam gestured to the chair next to him, and Ji Na sat down numbly. “This is my brother, Dean,” Sam said, gesturing over his comatose brother.

“Hi, Dean,” Ji Na said softly to the man on the bed. It almost looked as if he were sleeping peacefully if not for the wires and tubes coming out of him. As she was introduced to Sam’s brother, something that had been at the back of her mind came to the surface. “Why did the nurse call you Mr. Smith, but you told me your name is Sam Winchester?”

Sam looked surprised at the question. He didn’t realize he had given her his real name. They were so used to giving aliases at this point that he never even thought about it anymore. “Well, you see…” he stammered, “My brother and I don’t exactly live regular lives…and we have to use aliases a lot. I didn’t even realize I told you my real name when I met you,” he added sheepishly.

While Ji Na knew he wasn’t lying, it was obvious he wasn’t going to elaborate. And she didn’t push. She didn’t think he had anything dangerous to hide, and she suddenly couldn’t bring herself to care about it anymore. She had only asked in the first place to try to keep her mind off of her loss.

Sam could see Ji Na drifting back into her grief. He put his free hand onto her petite shoulder and squeezed it gently in an attempt at comfort. His other hand never let go of his brother’s. Ji Na looked down at her own hands, seeming not to notice Sam’s gesture.

They sat like that for a while. Sam’s hand never left Ji Na’s shoulder, even when the grief counselor came in to talk to her. She blankly stared at the pamphlets the kind man had given her and absently signed papers that she didn’t even read. Sam wondered if Ji Na even had anyone else to help her with the arrangements. She never mentioned parents or other siblings or even friends. He finally lifted his large paw from Ji Na’s tiny shoulder as he sighed and ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair. “Has anyone called your parents?” He asked.

Ji Na never looked up from her hands as she answered him in an almost child-like voice. “My parents died in a plane accident 8 years ago. They’re interred at the family crypt in Seoul. There isn’t anyone left to call. Ji Yong and his boyfriend broke up 6 months ago. It didn’t end well. We were all each other had.”

“Maybe you should call him anyway?” Sam asked hesitantly.

“I don’t have his number. We never really got along. He had a cold aura.” She replied. She seemed to be unaware of the bag of her brother’s personal effects that the counselor had set next to her chair. Sam was sure there was a cell phone in it.

“Maybe his number is in your brother’s phone?” his long arm easily reached over to the other side of her chair and retrieved the bag. He pulled the cell phone out and handed it to her.

She knew Sam was right. She took the phone with a sigh and unlocked it. She and Ji Yong had the same passcode on their phones. Ji Na pulled up the contact info her brother still had for his ex. She stared at it absently for a few minutes. She couldn’t bring herself to call him. She didn’t think he was good for her brother when they were dating and was secretly relieved when they broke up, but he had been a part of Ji Yong’s life for over a year, so she supposed he might want to know what happened. Instead of calling him though, she sent him a text message detailing what had happened.

Sam gave her a sympathetic look, but said, “You should have called him, you know.”

She nodded. “I just couldn’t.”  
Before Sam had a chance to respond, someone else had walked into the room. Ji Na’s breath caught in her throat as she took in the figure of the handsome man, in a trench coat similar to hers. His dark hair was plastered with rain water, and his blue eyes were cloudy with worry. His fiery blue aura matched his eyes.

Sam finally let go of Dean’s hand when he stood to give the newcomer a hug. “Cass. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Sam, I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. I-I was with Claire. She needed me,” his deep, gravelly voice sent shivers all over Ji Na. She was eager to be introduced, but she didn’t know why. “What happened?” He asked, concerned, before he finally noticed another person in the room. “Who is that?” he whispered to Sam.

“It’s OK, I understand,” Sam said. “I’m just glad you’re here now. Dean was in an accident. Big rig lost control on the interstate,” Sam explained. He looked down at Ji Na and said, “This is Ji Na Choi. Her brother was in the same accident. He-um-he didn’t make it.”

Castiel looked down at the small figure still seated miserably in her chair. “I’m very sorry for your loss.” He extended his hand in greeting. “I’m Castiel…I’m…” He was going to say “a friend of the family” when Ji Na interrupted him.

“You’re their guardian angel,” she said, her voice tinged with the slightest bit of awe.

Cass turned to Sam and hissed through clenched teeth, “She knows about me?”

Sam shrugged sheepishly. “She overheard me trying to contact you. She’s cool though.” He sat back down in his chair and gestured for Cas to take the chair on the other side of the bed. Sam took Dean’s listless hand again and put his other one protectively back onto Ji Na’s shoulder.

Ji Na couldn’t take her eyes off of Castiel as he reluctantly sat down into the chair Sam indicated. Before she could stop herself she blurted out, “Your aura…I’ve never seen one like it. It’s blue and fiery…like your eyes.” She dropped her head suddenly as a blush once again colored her pale caramel cheeks. Sam looked over at her and smiled a little. He was starting to find that blush a bit endearing.

“My aura?” Castiel asked, looking at Sam with a tilt of his head.

“Um, yeah,” Sam tried to explain. “Apparently Ji Na has this gift where she can see auras and feel people’s emotions.” He explained it matter-of-factly as he realized this was not the weirdest thing he had come across in his life. He decided once this was over and he was back at the bunker with Dean, he would see what information the Men of Letters had about auras and empathic beings.

Cass grunted in reply. He still wasn’t sure about this new person knowing who and what he was. The fact that she could see his aura made him feel exposed in a way he wasn’t used too.

Sam looked up at Castiel and finally asked him what was on his mind. “So, can you heal him?”

“How will we explain his miraculous recovery?” the angel asked seriously.

“People come out of comas unexpectedly all the time. They’ll probably want to run a million tests, but I doubt they’ll be able to find that Dean was healed by angel grace,” Sam explained as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

“I don’t even know why I bother arguing with you,” Cass answered. “We both know I’m going to say yes anyway. I can’t possibly ignore it when the Winchesters are in need.” There was a sarcastic undertone to his words, but they were mostly said with reverence and care. Castiel put two fingers to Dean’s forehead and extended his grace into Dean. The doctor’s had done their work excellently and there wasn’t much damage left to heal. Cass removed his touch from Dean and suddenly Dean sat up in bed.

Dean tried to speak, but he was still attached to the respirator and had a tube down his throat. “Don’t try to talk,” Sam said as he stood up to press the call button. A nurse came in to see the patient sitting up and awake. “He’s awake,” Sam said excitedly.

“I’ll get the doctor,” the nurse said before rushing out of the room.

The doctor had removed almost all of the tubes and wires from Dean’s body, leaving only the heart monitor and IV fluid drip attached. “We still need to run a few tests, and I’d like to keep you overnight for observation, but it looks like you’ve made close to a full recovery. Much faster than we could have possibly anticipated. You must have some really good genes or good karma on your side.”

“Maybe a little of both?” Dean answered sardonically.

Once the doctor and all the nurses had left, Dean looked at his brother and asked, “So, what exactly is going on…and who is the new girl?” His eyes drifted over Ji Na’s petite form.

Sam laughed and rolled his eyes. Of course, even just waking from a coma, his brother could spot a cute girl in a nanosecond. “You were in a car accident. An 18 wheeler blew a tire and slammed another car into yours.” He gestured towards Ji Na, “this is Ji Na Choi. Her brother was driving the other car. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.”

Dean looked over to her. “Oh…I-I’m uh…sorry for your loss.” He then turned to Castiel. “And I guess you healed me?”

“Of course I did,” Castiel answered. “I just wish I had been in time to save her brother as well…but Claire needed me…and I wasn’t aware how dire the situation was here.” He dropped his head sadly, his blue eyes studying the floor tile.

“You can’t save everybody,” Ji Na spoke up suddenly. Even through her own grief, she could tell the angel needed comforting. “Whoever Claire is, she’s obviously important to you, or you would have come the moment Sam called you.”

“That’s true,” he answered, a soft smile crossing his lips.

Dean, in his way, had to lighten the serious mood that had settled in the room. He looked at Sam. “How’s my Baby?”

“You have a baby?” Ji Na asked confused.

Sam laughed. “Baby is his Impala,” he answered her before answering Dean. “It was towed to a wreckage yard nearby. The cops gave me the information. I’m going over there first thing in the morning before they can open the trunk and find our arsenal. I’ll find out if they can save her.”

“You know the deal, Sammy. If there’s any part of her that can be saved, I’ll rebuild her. If they can’t do it, have them tow it to bunker. I can work on it in the garage.” Dean stated.

“Yes, Dean, I know.” Sam rolled his eyes.

During the bothers’ easy banter, nobody noticed how quiet Ji Na had gotten. Suddenly, Sam noticed her staring at her brother’s phone, which she had been clutching in her hands most of the night. His hand returned to her shoulder almost instinctively, as if that one gesture could comfort and protect her from whatever was on the screen. She looked up at him, her eyes glassy pools of dark chocolate. “It’s Seung Ri. He finally responded to my text about Ji Yong. He said he’s sorry to hear about what happened, but it isn’t really his business anymore.” She sighed, “I had a feeling he’d respond that way. Their relationship did not end well at all.”

“So you don’t have anyone to help you with this?” Sam asked, concerned.

She shook her head sadly. “I don’t really have friends. Ji Yong was really my only family.” Ji Na was suddenly feeling very tired. She had no desire to return to the apartment she and Ji Yong had shared. She didn’t want to go to the funeral home and interact with people. She knew the pity would be overwhelming for her, just like it was when her parents died. At least then, she had Ji Yong to keep her balanced.

“Well, you have a friend now,” Sam answered, almost forcefully. “After I deal with the Impala, I’ll take you to the funeral home and help, with, whatever.”

Ji Na turned her dark eyes up to Sam gratefully. “Thank you, Sam, but you have your own family to take care of.”

Dean looked from his brother to the new girl, not entirely sure what was going on between them. He knew he was fine since Cass healed him, so he didn’t actually need Sam to babysit him until the doctors decided to release him. “I’m fine,” he said. “Sam doesn’t need to babysit me while the doctors finally realize I’m OK to leave. You can borrow my brother tomorrow, as long as you return him when you’re done,” he said, again trying to lighten the mood with his unique brand of humor.

“I can stay with Dean,” Castiel offered. He felt bad for not coming immediately, and wasn’t eager to leave his injured friend’s side. “I don’t need to sleep or eat, so I will stay here. You two should probably get something to eat and get some rest. I’ll bring Dean back to the bunker when they say that he can leave.”

Sam seemed to agree with the angel’s indisputable logic. He could see how exhausted his new friend now was. Her head kept dropping into her chest and her eyes were flittering to stay open. Sam tapped Ji Na on her shoulder to get her attention. “Come on, let’s get something to eat and then I’ll take you home.”

She nodded her head in agreement and stood languidly from her chair, still clutching her brother’s phone to her chest. Sam helped her gather her things and escorted her out of the room.

Dean looked over to Cass once they were gone. “What do think is going on with them? Doesn’t Sam seem a little over protective for someone he just met?”

“She makes me very uneasy,” Cass replied.

“Then why did you agree to stay with me so he could go gallivanting around with her?” Dean asked.

“So I could talk to you alone, you moron.” Cass didn’t insult people much, so when he did, it was well deserved.

“Oh,” Dean said sheepishly. “Why does that tiny Asian girl make you uneasy? I mean, other than the fact that Sam seems overly attached to her already.”

“She said I have a fiery blue aura,” Cass answered, as if that were all the explanation needed.

“I just came out of a coma, Cass. You’re going to have make more sense than that,” Dean replied.

“She’s an aura reader. And likely an empath, too, based on what Sam told me.” Castiel started to explain. “Empaths are very rare among pure humans. Aura readers are almost unheard of. For someone to possess both gifts as powerfully as she seems too…well, I’m afraid she will either be dangerous or be in danger. If a demon were to possess a human with so much power…” the angel stopped speaking as the implications hung in the air.

“Well, she doesn’t seem all that dangerous. And Sam can protect her for now. Once everything is back to normal again, we’ll see if we can get her inked up to protect her from possession,” Dean was being surprisingly logical considering how much he distrusted strangers…especially female strangers Sammy seemed interested in. Those usually ended up being monsters or demons they had to dispose of. “And once I get back to the bunker, I’ll see if the Men of Letters have any information on folks like her.”

Castiel nodded, accepting Dean’s logic for now. “You should probably get some rest. I healed your injuries, but you still endured a great trauma.” He didn’t give Dean a chance to protest; instead he put two fingers to Dean’s forehead and used his grace to ease Dean into a restful sleep.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________  
When Sam and Ji Na made their way to the hospital parking garage, they realized they had parked next to each other. Sam eyed Ji Na’s pink and black Suzuki and was suddenly glad he had taken one of the pickup trucks from the Men of Letter’s garage. “There’s no way you’re driving that thing in your condition,” He said as he maneuvered it into the bed of the truck.

Ji Na nodded listlessly before speaking. “Sam, I can’t go back to my apartment. Not tonight. Being there, without my Oppa…I just can’t.”

“Well, we have a few extra rooms at our place. If you don’t mind staying at a stranger’s place, that is. Or I can take you to a motel.” Sam was starting to stammer. He felt like Ji Na needed a friend tonight, but knew it was bad form to invite a girl he just met to stay the night at his place. And he knew Dean would probably freak if he brought a relative stranger back to the bunker.

“I could use a friend right now,” Ji Na said softly, almost too softly for Sam to hear.

He nodded. “OK then. We’ll get some food and we’ll go back to my place.” He cleared his throat as he tried not to think about the possible implications of that. “What would you like to eat? What’s your comfort food?” He tried to make his voice sound light.

“Pizza,” Ji Na responded. “There’s this great 24 hour pizza place near here that puts kimchi on their veggie pizza.” She started to say something else, but didn’t want to think about how that’s what Ji Yong always got her to eat whenever she was feeling down.

“You like kimchi on your pizza?” Sam asked.

“I’m Korean. I like kimchi on everything,” she said. Sam was glad to hear humor returning to her voice.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________  
Back at the bunker, Sam and Ji Na were sitting at the conference table eating the pizza, which Sam was surprised he liked. He found himself opening up to Ji Na, telling her all about the Men of Letters and the Family Business. Things he never told anyone unless it was necessary for a case. Ji Na opened up to him, too, telling him all about her gift and her relationship with her brother, about how he gave up his dreams of stardom so she wouldn’t be alone.

Sam enjoyed listening to her talk, watching her eyes light up as she talked about her brother. It was clear she adored her brother, much the way Sam looked up to his older brother. He did have one question for her. “You keep referring to your brother as ‘Oppa’. Is that a Korean thing?”

She laughed at his question. It was an easy laugh, and Sam was glad to hear it. “Yes. Ji Yong was my older brother…by all of five minutes. Women refer to their older brother as ‘Oppa’. They can also use the term for other males they are close too who are older.”

“Five minutes older?” Sam’s face dropped a little as it hit him. “You lost your twin. No wonder you don’t want to go back to your apartment. I guess it will seem empty without him.”

“You have no idea,” she said sadly.

“Well, I can understand a little bit, actually,” Sam said. “Dean isn’t my twin brother, but he is my older brother. And I know what it’s like to lose him.” He went on to explain the history of how the Family Business of “Saving people, hunting things,” had caused them both to face the horrors of Hell only to come back and have to do it all again. Sam was surprised at how calm Ji Na stayed. None of this seemed to faze her. “You seem surprisingly nonplussed by all of this,” Sam stated when he was finished.

Ji Na shrugged, “When you’ve been seeing auras and feeling other people’s emotions most of your life, you become pretty open to the fact that there are other things in this world beyond most people’s comprehension. And I figured you had to be a hero of some kind, based on your powerful aura. I also met an angel, who you’re friends with. I don’t think there’s much you could say at this point that would surprise me.”

Sam nodded, what she said made perfect sense. He looked at his watch. It was getting late. “We should probably get some rest. I have to get up early to take care of Dean’s Baby. You can sleep and I can come get you after, or you can go with me and we can go to the funeral home right after. It’s up to you.” Sam realized he was talking a little fast and started to wonder what kind of affect this girl was having on him.


	2. A New Bunker-mate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam decides the best way to help Ji Na through her mourning is to invite her to move in. Really, what affect is this girl having on him?

The next day, Sam knocked lightly on the door to Ji Na’s room, waiting to see if she wanted to go with him on his first errand of the day. To his surprise, the door opened and Ji Na was wide awake. “Good morning,” she said, somewhat tiredly.

“Did you get any sleep at all?” Sam asked concerned.

“Not really. But it’s fine. I rested some.” 

______________________________________________________________________________________  
After breakfast, they ran their errands. Sam had the scrap yard tow the Impala as close to the bunker as they could so Dean could work on it himself. He knew his brother would want to do the work himself, since it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Then, they took care of funeral arrangements for Ji Na’s brother. She decided to have him cremated and not have a service, he wouldn’t want it, and she couldn’t handle everyone’s sorrow and pity.

They finally ended up back at Ji Na’s apartment, where Sam intended to just drop her and her Suzuki off. He walked her up to her place and watched as she walked around listlessly touching her brother’s things. “I’m going to have to move,” she said more to herself than to him. “Without my brother to help pay bills, I can’t afford to live here. It’s not like I can go out there,” she gestures towards the window, “and get a job. I can’t do enough work from home…” Her voice trailed off as she got lost in her own thoughts.

A thought entered Sam’s mind, and he tried to push it away, because he knew it was ridiculous. He couldn’t invite this girl he just met to stay at the bunker with him and Dean. It didn’t matter that they were trying to convert the switchboard so the bunker could be a dispatch for the Hunter’s Network. It didn’t matter that they would need someone to run the dispatch once it was complete. None of that mattered because you just don’t ask a girl you’ve known for less than 24 hours to move in to your secret magic bunker. And Dean would probably kill him. “You can always stay at the bunker with us.” Dammit.

Ji Na looked over at him with surprise. She didn’t even realize she was speaking out loud until Sam answered her. “What?” She definitely didn’t think she heard him correctly.

“I said you could come stay with us at the bunker,” Sam replied sheepishly. “I said it without thinking. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Why was he talking so fast?

“Sam, that’s a very sweet offer…but I can’t afford to pay rent. I can always just go back to Korea…I think have some cousins over there I can stay with…”

“I’m guessing they don’t understand your gift.” Sam said logically. “Look, if you stay with us you don’t have to worry about dealing with the big bad world. You can still do whatever kind of work you do from home, and help us out with things there. We’re working on creating a switchboard to help fellow hunters. We could use someone to stick around and answer phones and do research while Dean and I are on the road.”

Ji Na thought about her options. She really didn’t relish the idea of living with 2 (or 3 if the angel lived there too) extremely attractive men with bright, beautiful auras. She didn’t like the idea of moving in with strangers, even though Sam didn’t really seem like a stranger anymore. But she also didn’t relish the idea of the kind of rat hole apartment she’d be forced to move into without her brother to help her. She also didn’t know how she would manage to take care of herself when she couldn’t even go to the grocery store without having a panic attack because of all the emotional baggage people carry around all the time. She could do work around the bunker, besides just answering phones, to earn her keep. She always kept the apartment clean for her and Ji Yong, and she was a fairly decent cook. And she really liked the idea of being able to help people, even if it was just helping hunters to help people. “Dean won’t be upset, will he?” she asked tentatively.

“Dean will be pissed,” Sam answered. “But, he’ll get over it. I promise.”

“Well, I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?” Ji Na mused, practically to herself.

“Nope,” Sam answered. “You start gathering up what you want to take with you. I’m going to drop your bike back off at the bunker and bring back some boxes. Don’t forget to talk to the land lord. I think under the circumstances, he’ll forgive your lease.”

Shit. She didn’t think about having to talk to the land lord. Ji Yong always handled the necessary personal interactions of day to day life. Her chocolate brown eyes became large as saucers as she thought about the possibility of speaking to someone new. 

Sam immediately picked up on her reaction. “Do you want me to go with you?”

She nodded, and they got everything taken care of.

______________________________________________________________________________________  
Dean and Castiel returned to the bunker to find it devoid of life. Sam clearly wasn’t back from running errands, even though they found the Impala parked in a field not far away. Castiel had been able to “mojo” it into the bunker’s garage. When they went to survey the damage, they saw Ji Na’s Suzuki parked there like it belonged. “What is this doing here?” Dean asked, not to anyone in particular.

“Are you asking me?” Castiel wondered, “Because I’ve been with you all day, clearly I have no idea.”

“No, Cass, it was just a general question. I’m guessing this belongs to that girl. You’d think Sammy would have taken it with them when he drove her home last night.”

Just then, the pickup truck Sam had been using pulled into the garage, the bed filled with boxes and Ji Na in the front seat.

Dean knew exactly where this was going, and he did not like it. “Sammy, what did you do?”

Sam climbed out of the truck and faced his brother. “Look, she doesn’t have anywhere else to go. She can’t stay at her old place. And she can help us.”

Dean just sighed. He knew that sometimes there was no arguing with his brother. Besides, at least now he could keep a close eye on the new girl and make sure she wasn’t dangerous.

___________________________________________________________________________________________  
Even though Castiel didn’t need to sleep, he still had his own room at the Men of Letters’ bunker. He appreciated that he had his own space whenever he stayed with the guys for an extended period of time. The angel was enjoying the plethora of cat videos on the internet when he heard a strange sound coming from elsewhere in the bunker. He realized that it wasn’t a strange sound so much as it was singing. He heard singing from the kitchen.

Castiel got up to investigate and found Ji Na in the kitchen, singing and dancing along to music he was sure Dean would not approve of.

“I might like you better if we slept together; I might like you better if we slept together,” Ji Na sang and danced, not aware she was being watched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x0fPZrPV3M (Romeo Void “Never Say Never”)

Castiel just watched her for a few minutes, and suddenly he temporarily didn’t feel uneasy by her presence. He found himself enraptured by the girl who sang and danced around the kitchen, blissfully unaware she was being watched.

She stopped suddenly when she finally noticed him watching her. Her halted movement caused her to run into the furniture. She blushed deeply as she turned her MP3 player off. “Romeo Void,” she said by way of an explanation, “One of my favorite bands, even though they were around before I was born.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Cass said, concerned she may have injured herself. “I didn’t mean to startle you. That music is very different than the kind I usually hear around here.”

Ji Na tilted her head and looked at him. “I make you uneasy, don’t I? Is it because of my gift?”

Castiel was momentarily surprised by her question, but decided to answer it honestly. “Yes. But only because I’m concerned you could pose a threat to Dean and Sam.”

“Is there anything I can do to ease your concern?” she asked sincerely.

“You could let me read your mind,” the angel answered, not expecting her to accept.

“Ok,” she said. “How does that work?”

“You would let me read your mind?” Castiel asked in surprise.

“Why not? I can read other people’s emotions, it’s only fair that I be willing to share as well,” she answered.

“Alright. I just need to touch your forehead. It won’t hurt, you most likely won’t feel anything.”

Ji Na crossed the room and stood in front of the angel, looking up at him expectantly. Castiel put two fingers to her forehead and let his grace in to probe her thoughts.

A few minutes later, he pulled his fingers away and Ji Na asked him, “Well? Am I a threat?”

“No, I have determined that you pose no threat to the Winchesters. You didn’t even know who they were until you met Sam at the hospital. You also think that I’m…dreamy?” Castiel answered thoroughly.

“Well, um, yeah, all of that is true,” Ji Na answered, blushing deeply. In a concentrated effort to change the subject she asked, “Do you like coffee?”

“Yes, I rather enjoy coffee,” Castiel answered, making a note to himself to find out what she meant by “dreamy”.

________________________________________________________________________________________  
When the smell of bacon, eggs, and fresh coffee woke Dean from a semi-sound sleep, he wondered if maybe having an extra bunker mate wasn’t such a bad idea after all. When Dean made his way into the kitchen, he was still only wearing his pajama pants. Ji Na only barely hid her appreciation as she took in his lean, fit form. She was glad nobody could sense HER emotions.

The first thing Dean noticed when he walked in was Castiel drinking from the tiniest coffee cup he had ever seen. “Cass, real men don’t drink from cups that size,” he chided.

“This is how you drink espresso, Dean,” Cass responded flatly. “I like espresso,” he added with a smile in his voice.

Dean looked over to his brother and asked, “How many of those has he had?” Dean wondered that since the angel could get drunk, if he could also get a caffeine buzz.

“He’s had at least five since I’ve been up. Don’t know how many he had before that,” Sam replied.

“This is my…” Cas sits there, his eyebrows knitting together as he tries to count, then gives up. “Ji Na, how many espressos have I had?”

Ji Na walks over to the table where the guys are sitting, placing a heaping plate of bacon and eggs in front of Dean and replacing Castiel’s empty espresso cup with a fresh one. “This is number 13,” she answers. She then places a large steaming mug of regular coffee next to Dean’s plate.

Dean looks at Cass and notices the mischievous glint behind the angel’s blue eyes and decides that, yes, he can get a caffeine buzz. “That’s it, Cass, you’re cut off. No more espresso for you.” He grabs the tiny cup from him and drinks it himself like he’s drinking a shot of whiskey…and immediately gags on it, much to the amusement of everyone else in the room.

Cas pouts, and Ji Na replaces the cup with a fresh one before sitting down to her own breakfast, which was a caramel frappuccino. Dean shoots her a look, and of course she knows he’s irritated. “Sorry, but he threatened to smite me…and I know he was at least semi-serious,” Ji Na explained, humor glowing behind her chocolate eyes. Her look turned serious when she spoke to Dean next. “I’m sorry for taking over your kitchen.”

Dean’s laugh is a little too forced when he responds. “No sweat. I’m glad to have a break from having to cook. It takes a lot of effort to keep Sasquatch over here fueled.” He cocks a thumb over his shoulder to point to Sam when he says “Sasquatch.”

Ji Na rolls her eyes. “I’m an empath, remember. I can tell that part of you is put out that I took over as bunker cook. I just want to help where I can. Besides, Sam said you probably don’t know how to use all of these fancy kitchen implements I brought with me.”

“OK, fine, I admit it. I like cooking. There, I said it.” Dean admitted stubbornly. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered under his breath. He was back to not liking the idea of a new bunker mate.

Of course, Ji Na could tell he was unhappy. “I’ll show you how to use all of these fancy things if you want. And I’ll do my best not to call you out on your emotions.” Ji Na wasn’t used to being around so many people at once, but was surprised when it didn’t give her that deep seeded sense of panic that it usually did when she was surrounded by people’s emotions. Maybe it was because she couldn’t read Sam at all, and the angel and other hunter were much better at concealing their emotions than even they realized.

Dean seemed moderately satisfied with her offer and grunted a response before digging into his breakfast. He didn’t want to admit that it was probably the best bacon and eggs he’s had in his life.

Sam, who had become increasingly protective over his new friend, finally noticed that Ji Na didn’t have anything to eat. “Is that all you’re going to have for breakfast?” he asked, pointing to her frozen coffee beverage.

Ji Na shrugged. “I don’t eat bacon or eggs like this usually. This isn’t exactly my kind of breakfast. But I thought you guys would prefer it to kimchi, rice, and bean sprout soup.”

“Good call,” Dean agreed, warming up again to their new addition. He was starting to feel like a damn seesaw the way his opinion of Ji Na kept vacillating. 

“Maybe tomorrow you can make us your kind of breakfast,” Sam suggested.

“Son of a bitch,” Dean muttered under his breath.

“Sure,” Ji Na agreed, and then turned to Dean. “Don’t worry; I can also make a manly American breakfast for you.”

“Get out of my frickin head.” Dean said, not bothering to mutter this time.

Sam quickly changed the subject. “Charlie is coming over in a little while. She’s going to help me finish setting up the switchboard. We’re going to see about getting Ji Na’s computers set up in there so she can do research and still do her transcriptionist work. With any luck, we’ll have everything up and running by today or tomorrow and we’ll be able to touch base with all of the hunters in the country.”

“If you can set up my scanner and printer and get a hold of a laminator, I can also make up whatever fake ID’s you guys need,” Ji Na suggested. “I belong to a lot of online fandoms, and have become quite adept with things like Photoshop.” As she was talking about the skills she acquired from her online life as a fangirl, she realized why these guys seemed so familiar. “Oh my God! Carver Edlund’s stories are real! Supernatural is your story, isn’t it?” Ji Na was almost ashamed of herself for not realizing it before. What was the point of having an eidetic memory if it couldn’t reconcile that what she once thought was fiction turned out to be fact.

The brothers looked at each other and groaned. “Son…of…a…BITCH!” Dean stated. “Can’t we get rid of those books once and for all?”

“The Winchester Gospel will never go away,” Castiel stated logically.

“You know, you should be as annoyed as we are,” Dean said to the angel. “Some of those stories are as much about you as they are about us.”

“Yes, but I’m not self-conscious about it,” Cas pointed out, trying and failing to conceal his mirth.

Meanwhile, Ji Na was trying very hard to conceal the giggling that had been building inside. “Oh, you guys, you wouldn’t believe the different subsets within the fandom. You should read some of the stories out there on the internet.” Just please don’t read any of mine, she thought to herself.

“This conversation is so over!” Dean declared, and his bright green eyes flashed hard, daring anyone to disobey. And they didn’t need the empath to tell them that Dean was not amused.

“Charlie is here anyway,” Sam said, pointing at his phone for emphasis. “I should let her in.”

Ji Na began to clear the table, and Castiel offered to help clean up, even though he didn’t “partake of the sustenance.” Dean just sat there, grumpily finishing his breakfast.

Sam escorted Charlie into the kitchen and introduced the two women. Ji Na shook Charlie’s hand warmly and offered her something to eat, as there was still plenty of bacon and eggs left over. She took to the friendly red head immediately. Charlie’s aura was warm, bright pink, and almost sparkled. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and she practically exuded positivity.

“So what color is my aura?” Charlie asked excitedly. After a glance from Sam, she turned almost apologetic. “I’m sorry. Sam kinda told me about your gift. But don’t worry, I won’t spill the beans.”

Ji Na smiled brightly. “I know, I can tell you’re trustworthy. And even if I couldn’t, the fact that Sam trusts you would be enough for me. Your aura is bright pink, and sparkly. It’s very warm.”

“Bitchin!” Charlie replied. She turned to Sam. “Come on, Groot, we have a switchboard to finish.” With that, she took the offered plate of food and led Sam out of the room.

__________________________________________________________________________________________  
Down in the room they designated for the switchboard, Sam and Charlie diligently worked to get computers, phones, and accessories set up. Unable to help herself, Charlie said to Sam, “I like your girlfriend. She’s cute.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Sam insisted, but was unable to control the slight blush that crept into his face. He did not want to admit his attraction to the new girl, and was exceedingly grateful she couldn’t read his feelings.

“Oh, she’s not?” Charlie asked brightly. “Can I ask her out then?”

“Charlie,” Sam groaned.

“OK, fine. I just figured with all the hotness going on in this bunker SOMEBODY should be getting laid. And why shouldn’t it be me?”

__________________________________________________________________________________________  
When he was finished eating, Dean left the kitchen to get dressed and begin work on Baby. Castiel stayed behind to continue helping Ji Na with the clean-up.

“There is another way you could potentially pose a threat to Sam and Dean,” Castiel said to Ji Na once they were alone. “If a demon or an angel were to possess you…” he trailed off, hoping she would understand.

“Well, thanks to Carver Edlund and the Winchester Gospels, I’m at least safe from one of those,” Ji Na said as she pulled down the right shoulder of her black tank top to reveal an antipossession tattoo that matched the one Sam and Dean had.

Castiel came over to her to examine the tattoo. He lightly traced his finger around it. He wanted to determine that it was, indeed, the correct sigil. “Yes, it looks like you are warded against demonic possession.”

“And angels need permission before they can possess a vessel, right?” Ji Na asked.

“That is correct. I could add further protection…but I would have to touch your-um-your…” he trailed off, blushed deeply, and gestured at her chest, which was quite ample for a small girl.

“Oh…oh!” Ji Na exclaimed and also blushed, crossing her arms across her bosom.

__________________________________________________________________________________________  
When Dean went into the kitchen around lunch time, he found Castiel and Ji Na talking to each other in an intimate sounding tone, in a language Dean didn’t recognize, but assumed it was Korean.

“Since when do you speak Korean?” Dean asked.

“I speak every language ever known by life on this planet,” Castiel explained matter-of-factly.

“Oh, yeah, I knew that,” Dean answered meekly. Then added, “Well, since when do you not feel uneasy around the empath?”

“Since she let me read her mind and I determined she’s not a threat. Dean, would you sit down and relax. Ji Na made BLTs and homemade potato chips for lunch,” Cass said, almost too forcefully.

“Fine,” Dean pouted. He put a sandwich onto a plate and piled it high with the chips.

“I’ll go tell Sam and Charlie that lunch is ready,” Cass offered and headed towards the switchboard.

“You know, just because Cass read your mind and determined that you’re not a thread to us, that doesn’t mean that you still can’t hurt us,” Dean said to Ji Na once they were alone.

Ji Na just looked over at him, totally not surprised by his accusation. “I know. If I were to be possessed, I could pose a great threat not only to you, but to others. But don’t worry; I’m warded against demonic possession.” She shows Dean her tattoo the same way she showed Castiel. “And I’m not likely to let an angel have my vessel,” she finishes.

“You know, you could just ask Cass to mojo a protection spell on your ribcage like he did to us,” Dean says.

“Um, yeah, that was the idea, but then he would have had to touch my…um…” Ji Na blushed and looked down at her chest.

Dean looked where she was looking and noticed her tank top stretched tightly over her chest. He suddenly realized that she could grace the cover of his favorite magazine, “Busty Asian Beauties.” Once again he was changing his opinion of her, and wondered briefly if she was a damn siren. Which he immediately followed with another thought; he realized Sam probably didn’t do any of the standard tests to see if she was a monster or not. He didn’t care if Cass read her mind and said she wasn’t threat. If she was powerful enough, she could fool an angel…at least that’s what he told himself. Dean got up and walked over to where Ji Na was sitting on the other side of the table. Without a word, he pulled out the flask of holy water he always carried in his pocket and threw it into her face. Nothing happened. Then, he pulled out the silver knife he always kept in his boot. He sliced her arm with it. The only thing that happened was she bled red blood. This is when everyone else walked into the kitchen.

“Dean! What the hell are you doing?” Sam asked as he rushed over to Ji Na’s side.

“I’m fine, Sam,” Ji Na assured him. “Dean has to do this.”

“Charlie, go get the bottle of borax from the broom closet,” Dean barked.

“Dean! She’s bleeding red, not black ooze. Clearly she’s not a Leviathan!” Sam exclaimed.  
“Charlie, get the first aid kit!”

“No need,” Cas said as he joined Sam by Ji Na’s side. He quickly healed the wound.

“Borax, now Charlie!” Dean stated.

“Fine,” Charlie muttered and collected the cleaning solution.

She handed the bottle to Dean and he splashed it onto Ji Na. Again, nothing happened. “Charlie, get me a mirror.”

Rolling her eyes, Charlie dug her compact out of her bag. “Here, but you’re being a dick.”

Dean took the mirror and held it at an angle so he could see Ji Na’s reflection. And all he saw was the Korean girl with chocolate brown eyes staring back at him. “Fine! You’re not a monster,” he finally agreed with resignation. He grabbed his plate of food and stomped off to his room.

The others sat down to enjoy their lunch. They were laughing and talking, and enjoying each other’s company when Dean comes back from his room and splashes something else at Ji Na. Again, nothing happens. “Witch killing brew,” Dean explains a little sheepishly. He grabs another sandwich and plateful of chips and heads back to his room, with a lot less attitude this time..

“I should apologize for my brother,” Sam begins before Ji Na cuts him off.

“Not necessary,” she says. “Dean was just doing what he felt he had to do in order to keep his family safe.” She smiles softly. “I totally understand. No real harm done…except now I probably need a shower.” She laughs good naturedly.

“Go ahead, we’ll take care of the clean-up out here,” Charlie offers.

“Thanks,” Ji Na says and heads for her own room.


	3. Friends With Benefits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ji Na and Castiel develop a much closer relationship. Dean walks in on something he really wishes he didn't see. (And he's totally not jealous...at all.) And there's always more to people's feelings than meets the eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is a short chapter compared to the first two, but it finishes establishing the "relationships" in the Men of Letter's bunker. Guess things should start happening after this...but we'll see.

Ji Na returns to the kitchen a little while later, cleaned up, wearing a black strapless sundress. When she walks into the kitchen, she’s surprised to see Castiel there, cleaning up by himself.  
“Why do you always get stuck with the clean-up when you don’t even eat?” 

“Everyone else was busy with more important tasks,” the angel answers logically.

“Well, that hardly seems fair,” Ji Na answers as she takes over washing the dishes he was working on.

“No, it’s hardly fair that you clean up after doing all of the cooking.”

She shrugs in response, and the two wash and dry dishes in silence for a while.  
Castiel is the first one to speak again, eager to revisit a topic from earlier in the day. “So, you think that I’m dreamy?” he asks her, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh shit!” she replies, blushing furiously and dropping the plate she was washing. It falls into the sink with a resounding splash that covers the both of them with sudsy water. “I-I completely forgot that you saw that in my head.” The words were tumbling out of her mouth before she could rein them in. She didn’t even know if they were making sense.

Castiel takes her small hands in his; she didn’t even realize they were shaking until he had them in his firm grasp. He raises his eyebrow at her again, his piercing blue eyes searching her brown ones. “Am I correct to assume that by ‘dreamy’ you mean that you find me physically appealing?”

Ji Na wanted to giggle at his clinical (though accurate) description of “dreamy,” but the serious look in those magical eyes of his stopped the sound before it reached her throat. All she could do was nod in response.

That nod was all the permission he needed. The angel bent over and captured her mouth in a powerful kiss. She responded in kind. It was when their tongues tangled together that she was hit with a very strong emotion coming from this powerful being. She gasped and used every bit of her strength to pull away from him.

“You-you love…”

Castiel cut her off before she could shout it loud enough for the bunker to hear. He pressed his hand over her mouth with enough force to back her into the wall. “Shhhh!”

Her deep brown eyes were wide with shock. His flaming blue ones burned into her. Ji Na nodded as best she could to indicate she would speak much more quietly if he removed his hand from her mouth. “You love Dean Winchester!” she said again, barely more than a whisper.

Castiel sank heavily into a chair at the well-used kitchen table. “It’s true. I do. I have for a very long time.”

“Does he know?” Ji Na asked stupidly. “Nevermind. Clearly he DOESN’T know, or you’d be kissing him and not me.”

“Of course he doesn’t know. Do you have any idea how much Dean Winchester would freak out if he really knew how I felt?” Castiel didn’t mean to sound condescending, but sometimes that was impossible with his heavenly deep voice.

“So, you don’t think he’d be receptive of your feelings?”

Cass responded by simply raising an eyebrow at her again. Only this time it wasn’t a “come hither” eyebrow so much as it was a “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me” eyebrow.

“Ok, ok, I get it,” Ji Na responded. “So, what are you planning to do about it?”

“The same thing I’ve always done. Ignore how I feel and simply cherish the close friendship he and I share,” Castiel responded. “Although I would like to do one thing I haven’t always done…” There went that damn eyebrow again.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Ji Na asked coyly, already having a pretty good idea of what he was talking about.

“I would very much like to continue kissing you….That is if you don’t mind kissing someone who is in love with someone else” he quickly added.

Ji Na simply laughed. “You just have no idea how ideal that kind of relationship is for me. I don’t do the whole romantic couple thing. Friends with benefits is more my speed. That way my feelings don’t get confused with the other person’s feelings. Much less complicated for my empathic senses.”

“There are far too many words coming out of that pretty mouth of yours.” Cass stated before locking lips with her again.

Their making out session was just starting to get heated, with Castiel lifting Ji Na onto the kitchen table as their mouths kept assaulting one another. So, they were completely oblivious when someone else walked into the kitchen and were totally taken by surprise when a resounding “Son of a bitch!” rang through the kitchen.

Castiel jumped back from Ji Na, leaving her stranded on the table. “D-dean! We didn’t notice you come in.”

“Obviously,” the hunter responded, scowling slightly. “You do know people EAT off of that table, right?”

“S-sorry,” Ji Na responded, sheepishly and almost too quiet to hear. She slid off the table, and scampered out of the room, muttering and blushing as she exited.

When they were alone, Dean turned on the angel. “Cass, what the hell are you doing? You KNOW Sam likes her, right?” That was Dean’s only concern when he saw what was happening in the kitchen. He was ONLY concerned about his brother’s feelings. There was literally nothing else driving the bit of anger he felt towards his friend at this moment.

Castiel returned Dean’s anger. “That girl – woman, has every right to decide who she wants to be kissing. If Sam has feelings for her, it’s his responsibility to tell her. Not mine, and certainly not yours. In fact, do you know WHAT you should be responsible for right now, Dean? YOU should finish cleaning up the mess in here, considering how much you’ve eaten and how little respect you’ve paid to the person preparing the meals!” With that, the angel stormed out of the room, clearly heading down the hall towards Ji Na’s room.

_________________________________________________________________________________________  
Castiel knocks on Ji Na’s bedroom door and pokes his head in. “May I come in? I’d like to continue the ‘conversation’ we were having in the kitchen.”

Ji Na smiles at him and gestures that he should come in and sit down. “We should actually finish cleaning the kitchen first,” she says with a chuckle.

“Dean is taking care of that. At least, he better be.” The look in the angel’s eyes clearly indicated that if Dean wasn’t doing as he asked, full angelic wrath would be released.

“OooooKkkkk,” Ji Na responded, not at all interested in how Castiel convinced Dean to clean the kitchen. “But you are right; we should finish the conversation we were having.” She put her hand up to stop him when Castiel moved in to start kissing her again. “Conversation, Castiel,” she said. “We need to set parameters before this…whatever this is…goes any further.”

During their conversation, Ji Na once again stated why she didn’t do romantic relationships. Being an empath, she couldn’t always distinguish her feelings from other people’s, and that tended to make things messy with a romantic partner. It was especially bad when she could never be sure if she had feelings for someone, or if she was merely tuning in to their feelings for her. Which is why, Ji Na explained, it was pretty much ideal for her to have a “friends with benefits” scenario with someone who was in unrequited love with someone else. There was no chance that her feelings would get confused with his. What she didn’t tell him was that she was ignoring some budding romantic feelings she had for someone else. Ji Na had a very strict rule that she no longer DID romantic relationships.

_________________________________________________________________________________________  
After Dean finished cleaning the kitchen (though he had no idea WHY he bothered. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t deny anything Cass wanted when he acted so CONTROLLING like that) he decided he should probably be the one to tell Sammy what was going on with Cass and Ji Na. He knew his brother would be hurt, but it was better to find out now than to walk in on it like Dean did. As soon as he walked into the room that was to become the switch board he heard,

“So, what do you say, Sam? Is it ok if I ask her out?” Charlie was looking up at Sam mischievously.

“I-uh-I might have the answer to that question,” Dean interrupts. He turns to look at Sam with sympathetic green eyes. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, Sammy, but I walked in on Ji Na and Cass making out in the kitchen.”

“What?” Sam asked. His hazel eyes started to fall, but he brightened up quickly and covered with joviality. “Sure, Charlie, go ahead and ask her out.”

Sam was good at covering his feelings, but not so good that Dean couldn’t tell what was going on. His heart broke a little for his brother. And that’s all he was feeling, dammit. He was feeling bad for his brother.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Charlie replied light heartedly, not catching the silent exchange between the brothers; mostly because she was paying attention to her phone. “Smell you later, bitches. I’ve got a date.”

After Charlie left the room, Dean looked over at Sam, who was trying very hard not to look like someone had just run over his dog. “You ok, Sammy?”

“Yeah, Dean, I’m fine. It’s not like I’m in love with her. Hell, we just met, like, two days ago.”

Dean wasn’t buying it, but he knew better than to push. Instead, he said, “You know, Sam, it’s probably better this way anyway. For Ji Na to be with Cass, I mean.”

Sam raises an eyebrow at him questioningly.

“What I mean,” Dean continues, “It’s about proportions, Sammy. I mean, look at her…and look at you. You’d probably kill her. No, you’d DEFINITELY kill her. Trust me; I watch enough Asian porn to know. A big moose like you and a tiny doll like her. You’d definitely kill her.”

Sam dropped his head into his hands and groaned, really wishing he could shoot his brother. Or at least that he had something to throw at him.


End file.
